Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hirado

(Encyclopedia)Hirado hēräˈdō [key], town, Nagasaki prefecture, on Hirado island, off NW Kyushu, Japan. ...

Hanan

(Encyclopedia)Hanan hāˈnən [key], in the Bible. 1 Reader with Ezra in explaining the law. 2 Sealer of the covenant, probably the same as the preceding. 3 Descendant of Saul. 4 One of David's guard. 5 One of Nehe...

Haridwar

(Encyclopedia)Haridwar härˈdwärˌ [key], city, Uttarakhand state, N India, on the Ganges River. The head...

Eridu

(Encyclopedia)Eridu āˈrĭdo͞o [key], ancient city of Sumer, Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates, S of Ur (in present-day S Iraq). Excavations conducted from 1946 to 1949 revealed that Eridu was the earliest known se...

Itsuku-shima

(Encyclopedia)Itsuku-shima ētso͞oko͞oˈ-shĭmˈä [key], sacred island, 12 sq mi (31 sq km), in the Inland Sea, Japan, SW of Hiroshima. It is the site of an ancient Shinto shrine, famous for its magical beauty. ...

Joseph, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Joseph, Saint, husband of the Virgin Mary, a carpenter, a descendant of the house of David. He was apparently dead at the time of the Passion, for his last appearance in the Gospels is at the finding ...

Póros

(Encyclopedia)Póros pôˈrôs [key], anc. Greek Calauria, island (1991 pop. 3,570), c.8 sq mi (20 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea near the Argolis peninsula of the Peloponnesus. It is famous for its fine marb...

Siwah

(Encyclopedia)Siwah or Siwa both: sēˈwä [key], oasis, c.35 sq mi (90 sq km), NW Egypt, in the Libyan (Western) Desert. Dates and tea are grown in the oasis, parts of which are c.200 ft (60 m) below sea level. Em...

Baugh, Sammy

(Encyclopedia)Baugh, Sammy (Samuel Adrian Baugh), 1914–2008, American football player, b. near Temple, Tex. The first great passer in the game, “Slingin' Sam” played for Texas Christian Univ. (1934–36) and ...

Taisha

(Encyclopedia)Taisha sīˈshä [key], town, Shimane prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan, on the Sea of Japan. It is a religious center, famous as the site of the ancient Izumo shrine. The shrine, said to be the oldest in ...